crane



UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEsu.` E. CRANE, or MINNEAroLIs, MINNEsoTA, AssIGNon To AMERICAN MANGA- NEsE STEEL COMPANY, or Ourense, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or MAINE.

SADDLE BLOCK-PLATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application filed December 1S, 1918. Serial No. 267,398.

l 1o all whom may concern Be it known that I, Eni Es'i E. Ibinnen, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county oi Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Saddle Block-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to steam shovels and the like and particularly to a novel ruimer or slide used on the rack beams oishovels and similar tools.

In the operation of rack beams on steam shovels and thc like, longitudinal movement of the beam is brought about by a rack and pinion construction whereby on rotation of ,the pinion. the rack is moved in either direction as desired. For maintaining the pinion in operative engagement with the rack, a runner is provided which engages the top portion ot the rack beam and supports the pinion shal't in engagement with the rack, usually on the bottom oic the beam. My invention is directed to the runner and especially to a separate saddle plate for engaging the top portion oit the rack and provided with means for supporting the remainder of the runner 'to main tain the pinion in proper engagement with the rack.

One of the objects O my invention is to provide renewable runners on saddle plates for rack beams.

Another object is to provide a renewable runner for saddle plates :tor rack beams to maintain proper engagement between the pinion and the rack and which runner may be renewed when worn without discarding the whole plate.

A further object is'to reduce the initial cost and the cost of upkeep of plates for rack beams and to improve the same for successful commercial use.

Generally speaking I accomplish the objects of my invention by forming a saddle plate of cast metal having a depressed central portion for receiving the ends of a U- bolt which supports the saddle block and gears and provides on the under sides oi' the plate means for supporting rider strips or runners which serve as friction reducing bearings for engagement with the top of the rack beam and which hold the saddle plate in such position as to permit it to slide over the tops of the bolts extending through the upper part ot' the rack beam.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings wherein L Figure l a top plan view of the preierred embodiment oi' my invention.

Big. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 5-23 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 4; is va plan View of a leek for the nuts on the U-bolt.

5 designates one leg of a rack beam and 6 the other. These are maintained in parallel relation as is well understood and suitably connected to the shovel or the like for operation. The bottom portions of the members 5 and 6 are provided for a suit vable portion of their length with racks T secured thereto by means ol.' bolts 8 or other suitable attaching means. For cooperative engagement with the rack "T, pinions 9 are provided mounted on a shait il) which is suitably connected by means not shown to the motive power for reciprocating the rack beams. In the construction shown the shaft 10 supported by a central filler member ll alined between the insides of the rack beams and '5, and having a recessed portion adapted to serve as upper bearing for the shaft l0. A separable bearl ing member l2 supports the shaft Ytrom below and has faces engaging the lower edges of the member 1I, as shown in Fig. 2. For supporting the ruimer on the rack beams a top saddle plate 13 is provided. Usually in constructions or' this sort the whole runner is formed of a single casting so that when the top or rider portion becomes worn. thus permitting play between the pinion and rack, it is Vnecessary to discard the whole runner casting or saddle plate supplying a new one in its place which is a very costly renewal. As a slide member `for the runner of my invention, I provide a separable saddle plate 13 having on its under side recessed portions '14: for receiving rider strips 15. These strips may be of the same metal of which. the saddle plate` is made or may be preferably of anti-friction metal so as to reduce the friction be tween the rider plate and the rack beams. These rider strips l5 are secured in the saddle plate 13 by means'of bolts or scr ws 16. A portion 17 of the saddle plate between the recesses 14 is downwardly eX- tending as means for affording strength to the plate. The central portion of the platev is depressed at 18 forming recesses 19 and 20 which recesses are of a suilcient depth to receive the nuts 21 on the ends of theV U- bolt 22 so as to permit the top of the saddle plate to be clear of any projections.

To provide means for preventing loosening of the nuts 21 I employ a member 25 as shown in Fig. 4. Member 25 has downwardly extending end portions 26 in thickness suiiicient to lie between the division walls 27 and the adjacent portions of the nuts 21. To secure the member 25 in position, an aperture 28 is provided through which extends the pin 23. Pin 23-is provided with a slot 29 with which a cotter pin 30 is engaged 'to prevent the member 25 from being displaced.

The. runner of myv invention is assembled from the bottom upwardly, the shaft and pinions being put into position with respect. to the rack the upper member 11 being inserted and then theA saddle plate with the rider strips applied is put'on top of the rack beams and the U-bolt 22 which snrrounds the lower bearing member 12 is,

passed through the apertures 24 in the depressed portions 18 of the saddle plate, then the nuts 21 are applied andscrewed home until the whole runner is brought properly `together and the pinion in proper operating engagement with the rack bars. It will thus be observed that by my invention I have provided a runner for rack beams wherein any of the parts when worn may be readily replaced by other parts without having to discard the entire runner structure. Ik prefer to make the saddle plate of alloy steel such as manganese steel in order -to prolong the life thereof and to provide a castingv which is strong and which is suitable for very rough usage.

I do not wish to limit myy invention to the exact arrangement shown and described as. I am aware that modifications thereof may be made and such modifications I consider as coming within the scope of my invention.

I claimz- 1. In combination a rack, a shaft, pinions thereon, a saddle platetand a U-bolt, the bolt having engagement with the plate for supporting the pinions in engagement with the rack.

2. In combination a rack beam, asaddle plate for sliding on the beam, a rack on the beam, a pinion for engaging said-rack, a U-bolt underlying the pinionand having its ends extending through the plate, and

- means for adjustably securingy said bolt in plate provided with rider strips for sliding on the beam, a rack on the beam, a pinion for engaging said rack, a U-bolt underlying the pinion and having its ends extending through the plate, and means for adjnstably securing said bolt in said plate.

5. A saddle plate for rack beams including a plate adapted to ride on the upper side of the beam, and rider strips removably secured to the under sideof said plate for sliding on the beam and for spacing the plate from the beam. Y

6. In combination, a rack beam, a shaft, a pinion thereon, a separate plate having anti-friction members thereon for sliding with respect to said beam, means adjustably supported by said plate for maintaining said pinion in operative engagement with the rack, and means for maintaining said supporting means in adjusted position.

-In combination, a rack beam, a shaft, a pinion for coperating therewith, and means for maintaining said pinion in operative engagement with said rack, said means including` a U-bolt depending from said plate and supporting said shaft, `mits for adjusting the bolt in the plate and means removably retained on said plate for preventing loosening of the nuts.

8. In combination, a rack beam including a pair of spaced paralled members, each member having a rack on its under side, a.

` it in engagement with the racks.

9. A saddle plate for rack beams including a single member adapted to overlie the beams and having longitudinal grooves formed in its under side, anti-friction members removably secured in said grooves 'and' adapted to have sliding contact with the beams, the surface contacted by Vtheantifriction membersV being less than the full width of the beam.

10. A saddle plate for rack beams comprising a single casting provided with recesses in its under side, anti-friction mem,- bers in said recesses for contacting the beam, said members being arranged to contact the beam near the outer edges thereof and thereby maintain said plate above the surface of the beam.

Signed at Minneapolis, Minn., this 2nd day of December, 1918.

ERNEST n. CRANE. 

